Higgs, Daniel A.I.U. – “Ancestral Songs ” – [Holy Mountain]

Thurston Hunger   10/5/2006   A Library, CD

Oh man, right out of the chute with a line like “Living in
the Kingdom of Death” followed shortly by its Confucious
conjugate, “Dying in the Kingdom of Life” over slow picked
brambly guitar and sung in a wild wizard’s whine…this
feels almost TOO aimed right for KFJC’s ground zero. Later
we get bare banjo pluck and song for “Thy Chosen Bride”,
the repeated chord on that drops like some bad clustered
molecule…over and over till you worship its mix of
atonalities. That is then followed by two instros, first
outstanding warble jaw harp and a baby xylophone struck hard
underwater for “Moharsing and Schoenhut.” Electro-hum-mantra
via e-bow telepathy penetrates the pineal gland to lead
“Are You of the Body” before some more steely guitar musings
over a rice bowl of tambura. The wizard returns to speak
on “O Come and Walk Along” evoking a lysergic liturgy,
the confluence of Roman Christian and roamin’ pagans. After
that, fuzz booster rockets are fired up, and we board the
“Time-Ship of the Demogorgon”. Full speed ahead! Higgs was
formerly a fisher of lung, and now a fisher of the cosmic
soul. Another amazing cave unearthed, and another heroic
hermit unearthed in the Holy Mountain!

-Thurston Hunger